Will it be the corporate dems or the dems representing the rights & future of the people?   By Norman Solomon Reader Supported News (11/28/19) When Democrats take control of the House in early January, they’ll have two kinds of leadership – one from the top of the party’s power pyramid, the other from its base. With formal control, Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer can brandish huge carrots and sticks to keep Democratic lawmakers in line. With grassroots support, a growing number of those lawmakers can – and should – strategically step out of line to fight for progressive…

“Remember [Steve] Bannon’s theorem, you put  a reasonable face on right wing populism, you get elected.” — Right wing Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini The Guardian (11/21/18) Rightwing populists are on the rise across Europe. With European parliamentary elections approaching, they are being offered help from Donald Trump’s former chief strategist, Steve Bannon. Over the last four months, the Guardian’s Paul Lewis followed his operation in Brussels, Rome and Venice – challenging Bannon over his media hype and the legality of his intervention. Link to 26-Minute Video (Illustration by Seth L. Taylor.)    

“It was the rise of Athens and the fear that this instilled in Sparta that made war inevitable.”  — Thucydides, “History of the Peloponnesian War.” TED Talks (11/20/18) Taking lessons from a historical pattern called “Thucydides’s Trap,” political scientist Graham Allison shows why a rising China and a dominant United States could be headed towards a violent collision no one wants — and how we can summon the common sense and courage to avoid it. Link to 19-Minute Video

We underestimated him once. Let’s not do it again. By Matt Taibbi Rolling Stone (11/20/18) When I first heard Donald Trump on the campaign trail, I thought, “What a joke!” When I last heard Donald Trump on the campaign trail, I thought, “How long will it take for my children to learn Icelandic?” I underestimated Donald Trump once. I’ll never do it again. If Obama voters understood “change” as a genuine call to idealism, Trump voters understood it as a chair through a plate-glass window, the start of a riot. Don’t think Democrats regaining the House has any bearing on the 2020…

  Oh, let Richard Ojeda bust open the debate for the 2020 Democratic presidential campaign! It would be great to see the off-the-shelf-mass-produced corporate dems get in a debate with Ojeda. Want to hear a real progressive call to arms and restoration of some basic rights, values, security and decency in the nation? You’ll find it here but you won’t find it among the threadbare rerun democrats talking themselves up for 2020. Ojeda could be just the kind of challenger to stir up the kind of vigorous debate the democrats need if they really want to get back on track…

  I ran into a man who was working to promote a public banking monetary  system.  Apparently this is an international movement that is gaining.  I was reminded about the concept after reading your last newsletter.  Below is an article that explains the concept decently. To Deal With Climate Change We Need A New Financial System. Glory Adams

“This is a very bad idea, House Democrats. It makes no sense whatsoever to give Republicans veto power over progressive legislation.” By Jake Johnson Common Dreams (11/16/18) Nearly three-quarters of the American public and a historic number of Democratic lawmakers support Medicare for All, but the House Democratic leadership is considering using its newly won majority to impose a rule that would “recklessly betray” the grassroots forces that put them in power by making single-payer and other progressive priorities impossible to enact. According to a list of Democratic proposals obtainedby the Washington Post, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)—who is currently fighting back against efforts to prevent her from becoming…